Is using a clapper board really necessary in the age of scratch tracks?

[harmonica44]

I was on another director's set helping out and learning, and I don't get why him and probably others, are so adamant on using them. Not only that but they will be very specific in how they use them and what is written and spoken off, of them. In the old days that was necessary since there was no scratch tracks, but today, I have no problem not using one. I just line up the audio take with the video scratch track easily. Plus after listening to the video take, the audio take, takes no time at all to find, since I just recognize how the dialogue was spoken during playback.

With the short film I shot I really had no time for a clapper board with the actor's availability and the availability of the locations. I just had to a lot of takes quick without having time to rewrite on it, and clicking it every time. So why in the age of scratch tracks are they still used on no budget productions, instead of using that time for other things?

 

[AudioPostExpert]

In addition to all the potential problems mentioned by others if you ever have to work on a larger scale project, there is another potential problem which no one has mentioned.

I just line up the audio take with the video scratch track easily.

Really, how certain of this are you? Sure, it's easy enough to get the audio and video in sync on your computer but does that mean it will be in sync when played out of other systems? What is the latency of your video output/monitor compared to the latency of your audio output? Rarely are they ever the same? It could be just a few milliseconds difference, in which case it's not worth worrying about or it could be a frame or more. What about distribution of your short, is it Youtube or maybe a festival cinema. For a cinema you may have to adjust sync to compensate for the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound.

Using a clapperboard provides a precise reference point between picture and sound and is an invaluable aid (even when using time-code sync) for all kinds of sync problem solving in post.

G

 

[jax_rox]

Yeah, even if you sync via waveforms, it doesn't necessarily mean it's 100% in sync, especially as the waveforms could be markedly different depending on the camera/mic placement. As I say, I've seen DSLR shorts where the editor has obviously thought that he's synced them up properly, but they are in fact slightly (and sometimes a lot more than slightly) out. It's only by being so picky about sync that has trained me to realise exactly when sync is out and how much by (I often adjust latency between audio and video if I get a DVD/BluRay that's out of sync)

Adding to the timecode thing, even those productions that do use timecode as a sync will slate the first shot of each reel to make sure that the timecode can be set properly/calibrated properly in telecine later. Even timecode should be checked periodically, at least once per hour to make sure everything is still in sync because timecode does drift and is still less reliable than a proper slate. It's less time consuming to sync but it's certainly not as reliably accurate.

 

[WalterB]

When you use a slate, don't 'operate' it yourself: that will take too much time.
Make sure the person clapping knows in advance what needs to be noted on it.
If you want notes taken: make sure you prepared the froms in advance, so adding notes is easy. Preferrebly someone else than the 'clapper' makes notes to save time.

If you don't want to use a slate (or if you don't have the people to do so): make sure you record audio with your camera as well: no matter how crap it sounds: 'saying' shot number and take number when both camera and soundrecorder are running will help you to identify the tracks without scrolling both.

The bigger the projects get, the more important it becomes to do 'paperwork' to keep and overview of the project.

 

[harmonica44]

For sure, I am going to say it into both mics in the future. And yes depending on the camera placement the sync might not be 100% but it doesn't always matter or is noticeable, when watching. I had some ADR tracks slightly off, but I showed it to some friends and they didn't notice. There is also one character that talks with a ski mask on, with no mouth hole. You can see the mask moves as he talks, but I put different sentences in there, and I don't think people will notice, as long as it takes up the same amount of time.